Monday, February 24, 2014

31 missed calls

We have 3 separate phones for the single landline in our Berkeley home. The main phone is in the kitchen, but there are also phones in the office space in Barbara's room. and in my office. Few calls on this line are for me, as most friends know that I have a personal cell phone, which I carry around. Often, when Barbara is out, I can't reach
the landline in time to answer it..That's why we pay a little extra for an answering service.
We both make charitable contributions, but Barbara is ahead of me in giving to political causes. Many of the recipients of her bounty exchange names and phone numbers for what I call their "sucker lists". Most of those who solicit donations from Barbara don't leave messages: they hang up and make their "pitch" at a later time.
The phone in my office shows the number of unanswered calls: currently, it shows 31.I have no idea how to erase this statistic--perhaps it deletes a missed call after a month.
I admire the technology, but I dislike it. I can't see that the number of unanswered calls is of any relevance to us. Not only is the information unnecessary, but also there's an implication of negligence on our part. How could we be so lazy as not to answer these 31 calls--most of which were probably to ask Barbara for money?